Medina Oven & Bar: The Verdict's In

Every month, a group (a rather large group actually) of my friends and I get together to try out a new restaurant in Dallas.  We call it DTF (Dining This Friday).  Kayla organizes us and by organize I mean she selects the restaurant, pesters us to RSVP, calls in a reservation, then deals with all of our last minute add-ons and cancellations the day of.  She's a patient one.  We're all over the map, from Bolsa to Angry Dog to Toulouse.  The goal is to give our taste buds something new every month.  January's restaurant was Medina Oven & Bar in the Victory Park neighborhood of Dallas.

Medina's a smaller size restaurant near the American Airlines Center.  When our group of 20+ arrived, we sat nearly 2/3 of the indoor area of the restaurant.  I was surprised they'd allow us to make reservations considering how much of their capacity we took up, but they were happy to oblige.  Before we get started, let me throw out that I am by no means a Moroccan/Mediterranean food connoisseur.  Actually, I'm not a food connoisseur period, so this review may be lacking in vivid and descriptive language.  I just know what I do and do not like.

First stop, Medina's "Sexy Drinks" Menu.  The name alone was enough to prevent the boys at my table from ordering off of it.  Don't worry, it appeared they had a sufficient selection of manly beers and liquor for them.  I ordered the Med-Rim Margarita, a grapefruit/tequila concoction of some sort.  It wasn't anything special.  If you like Grapefruit Juice and want to add a little alcohol to the mix, well then, there you go.  Maybe don't pay $9 for it though?  Don't worry, now that I'm blogging, I've become that annoying girl who takes pics of food and drinks when they arrive at the table.  Presenting your Med-Rim Marg:

Kayla made me jellious with her Caramel-Fig Martini.  Definitely a better choice.  And the swirly caramel on the glass was much prettier than my iPhone camera pic conveys.

My end of the table conspired together to order a selection of appetizers to share.  My favorite, hands down, was the Goat Cheese & Harissa Phyllos.  I think the rest of the table would agree.  The side sauce was delish and I love me some goat cheese.  It all melted in my mouth for yumminess.  There wasn't a lot that I ate that made me think, "I MUST GO BACK!" but this app is something I could see myself craving in the future.  The calamari was pretty good, too, with a sauce poured all over the calamari to give it a spicy kick.

The Beef Cigars were all anyone could write about in their Yelp and Open Table reviews, so we ordered some of those, as well.  They didn't hold a candle to the Goat Cheese and Harissa, but they weren't too shabby.  And of course, there was hummus.

The entrees came out quickly and fairly fresh.  Especially considering the order size for our group and how small I imagine their kitchen must be.  For the most part, they were all covered uniformly like so:

Our waitress had listed the Beef Tagine, Apricot Chicken Tagine and Chicken Marrakesh as their 3 most popular items.  It seemed like most of the table picked one of the three.  I went with Beef Tagine:

Those are prunes and almonds on top and the sauce definitely had a unique, sweet (perhaps prune like) taste to it.  The dish was well cooked.  The flavor was original.  I ate all of it, but the flavor profile just wasn't very "me." I think.  That could be the Moroccan/Mediterranean influence of it that I'm just not used to.  Who knows.

The Chicken Marrakesh:

And the Seafood Pastilla:

That seafood pastilla was tooooo much.  I only had a bite and it was good, but the dish was, well...seafood-y.  I couldn't imagine making my way through the whole dish without the flavors overwhelming me.  I think Kayla felt the same, as she kept giving away generous portions of her dish :)

One of the first things I check out on a menu are their desserts, so I shared an Orange Blossom Creme Brulee with a friend.  It was a good decision.  Nom nom!

On a scale of 1-5, I'd give Medina's a 3.5.  I think that has more to do with my personal taste than the restaurant and the food they serve.  Service was excellent.  Food was quick and fresh.  The meats were well cooked.  The restaurant would be a good fit for a date night, girl's night or group dinner.  Everything was there, in theory, that should rank them hirer on my food scale, but it was lacking somehow.  When I think of a 4 or 5, I think of a place I would recommend my family go to for our Sunday family dinner.  There wasn't anything that struck me so strongly that I need to go back, but if I were in the area for a show or basketball/hockey game at the American Airlines Center, then eh, why not?

Keeping January Fresh

My two week vacation from work has come to an end.  More on what I've been up to in a later post (because I assume you're interested :)).  I suspect tomorrow is going to be rough.  In lieu of thinking of the return to reality, I'm looking forward to a fantastic January.  Looking for something a lil off the beaten path to do in January in Dallas?  I'm hoping to check the following off my list 'o fun things to do:

• A group of my friends and I get together every month for our DTF (get your minds out of the gutter!  It stands for Dining This Friday).  Basically, we check out a new restaurant in Dallas every month.  This weekend we're exposing our taste buds to Medina Oven & Bar serving Moroccan & Mediterranean cuisine.   Hopefully it's nom nom!
• Social Science at the new Museum of Nature & Science kicks off on Friday, January 18th.  The topic is "Ingenuity."  Honestly, the theme could be anything.  I've been wanting to go check out the new museum since it opened in December and this adult evening seems like a great opportunity to listen to some guest lecturers, check out the new exhibits and enjoy a drink or two with friends.
• I've pledged to myself to run a 5K a month in 2013.  I'm already off to a good start running the Turkey Trot and Jingle Bell Run in November and December of 2012.  The trickiest part will be finding runs that work with my work schedule.  I'm usually at work on Saturdays, when many of these runs are hosted.  Good thing January's Electric Run is on the evening of Saturday, January 19th.  It's a little pricier, but you can't go wrong with a glow necklace, glow sunglasses, an LED bracelet, lit displays along the course and music.
• Pegasus Theatre's XSR: Die! Black & White production.  We used to go see this annual performance with some family friends back in the day.  I remember it being awesome.  Back then it was hosted in a small theater near Deep Ellum.  Looks like they've grown to a larger venue.  If I can sucker any family or friends into coming along before the show ends on the 20th, I'll be there!

I missed checking ICE! and Chihuly at NIGHT off my December list (I DID squeeze in a beautiful afternoon of Chihuly, but evening tickets were sooooold out :(), but 2.5 out of 4 in the busy holiday month ain't too shabby.

Chinese Lantern Festival: The Verdict's In

It was worth seeing.  Not a "must see," but a "hey, that was fun."

Perhaps not worth the full price $19 weekend ticket or $14 weekday ticket + $15 per vehicle to park, but we had coupons for $2-3 off that I picked up from work and as a fair grounds employee, I was able to get us free parking (work plug: you can come visit Texas Discovery Gardens and our tropical butterfly house before you visit the Chinese Lantern Festival...and while you're there, pick up some coupons for the Festival at our front desk).  Besides, Groupon is running a 50% off deal right now.

First off, there are in fact Chinese lanterns, but that's not the whole show.

You'll be greeted up front by some cute silk pandas.  One of them may or may not be "sexy" posing for you.

Hsu?  Is that you?

 And while many displays are made of metal frames and silk lit up, they are also made of other things.  Like the dragon made up entirely of china and teacups.  Those are teacups and not "sake bomb shot glasses."  April might have gotten rather excited and confused.

Or this display of thousands of glass medicine bottles filled with food coloring.  I think it was my favorite.

The Lagoon was transformed.  If you go to the State Fair or hang out on the campus year round, this is the lagoon where you can paddle around the swan boats next to the Bird Show and behind the Museum of Nature & Science (which sadly, no longer lives on the State Fair campus).

 About halfway through the trail there's a food and drink shop to stop at.  We didn't try any food, but I had to stop for a glass of hot chocolate.  It was definitely NOTHING to write home about.  Too small a cup of water with too much of a packet of chocolate powder and the ladies behind the booth may be the kind who definitely ARE talking about you in their second language (who tries to get away with that with Spanish in Texas?!), but I like hot chocolate when looking at lights in the cold!

Brianne organized the outing and she invited our kball friends Simon and April along.  Unfortunately for Simon (that evening), he's Asian.  Which meant he answered and corrected all our goofy assumptions through the evening.  Fortunately for him, he was in the company of 3 awesome girls.  You win some, you lose some.

For example, this might look like ants wearing/taking off with a picnic table cloth, but it's really ants celebrating a Chinese wedding tradition.

These are mythical peaches.  As in, they are not real and they do not really exist that size.  So no, we cannot take a trip to China to eat aforementioned mythical peaches, but if they were ever found and we were so fortunate to eat one, then we would have eternal life.  Obvs.

And this is exactly what it looks like.  The Chinese Lantern Festival ripping off the Little Mermaid Ariel and calling her the Mermaid Lady or something along those lines.  I repeat, that is not Ariel.

And this is NOT Hello Kitty just hanging out.

This is, however, a Longhorn.  HOOK'EM! \m/

And these are definitely bunny heads and hearts on top of a lighted section dedicated to the fungi.  Yes, you read that right, fungi.

We wrapped the night at Deep Ellum's Deep Sushi, which made the evening feel more like a well-rounded evening.

Dallas Chinese Lantern Festival is open every evening (including holidays) from 5pm-10pm through January 6, 2013.  Go check it out if you have the time.

Pooches, Patio, Beers, Live Music & 3 Beers + A Mug For $10?

Yes pls!

I ventured out into Deep Ellum last night with my kball team, Freeballers.  Yes, that's our team name.  This is us.

 Moving along.

We had the late 9pm game and one of our players, Graham, is into the "home brew" scene in Dallas.  By into, I mean he brews himself.  The man also knows how to grill and marinade.  Nom nom.  It doesn't hurt that he likes to share, either.  Anyhow, he knows all the cool little breweries and their owners/employees opening up around Dallas as brewing becomes the latest thing.  We've hit up the Deep Ellum Brewery's Brewery Tour before and it was such a great evening, we decided to hit it up again.

Now when Graham first pitched this Deep Ellum Brewery Tour to us a few months back, it was along the lines of "$10 and you can taste some beer and tour the brewery."  Cool...but taste sounds like a shot of beer and I've toured the Sam Adams Brewery in Boston before and learned all I need to know about beer to navigate my beer ordering world, which is, I don't like hops heavy beers.  Actually, I say that, but there's a lot of science and things to nerd out to involved in brewing if you really want to.  It got me thinking that a root beer brewing factory wouldn't be a shabby way to engage children in science and chemistry and the like, but there I go thinking again.

The team told Graham after our first visit that in his love for all things brewery, he had way undersold some highlights of the evening.  Namely:

• $10 for 3 full beers + a Deep Ellum Brewery Mug from 6-8.30pm

• Live Music

• Patio

• Free Hot Dogs

• Food Trucks

• Bonus (if you like dogs): BYOD (bring your own dog...just not inside the brewery)

This time, his team blast highlighted all of the extra perks.  I have to confess, I have yet to actually take the brewery tour.  I got there too late last time and I brought Bentley this time.  The doggy ban meant I was FORCED to enjoy the wonderful patio weather in December and live music from the hipster who likes country music.  Add that to the list of things hipsters and I have in common -- old school country music a la Old Crow Medicine Show.

Lord Bentley The Dragon Slayer donned his new hoody.  He also made a new "friend," Penelope, who is sadly not pictured.  More on that to come.  Penelope and him got along splendidly, if by splendidly you mean getting frisky and trying to hump each other.  Apparently BDog has a thing for unspayed females.

When we're out and about, people often ask me where I got Bentley and how much I paid for him.  The assumption is: small cute chihuahua must be a purebred.  So I'm doing my part to spread the word.  Rescue and you can pay a lot less to have some little animal pee in your apartment, tear up your crap, and dominate your schedule while keeping you company and saving its life.  Win-win!

Deep Ellum Brewery has 7 beers on tap to choose from.  I figured, since I was going to blog and all, I should snap a bunch of pictures, which I did, so I've become *that* photo girl, but then I deleted them in my upload attempt.  Because I'm special like that.  And whoaaaa was that a run on sentence somewhere there?  I like to type like I talk so I speak in run-ons sometime ok.  Note: When your select 5 photos to upload and your phone asks you if you want to delete them or share them, be sure to select share and not delete. Hey, blogging is tough.

The brewery is shiny and pretty though and the patio is chill.  There were two pics that didn't find themselves on the accidental chopping block because they were the worst of the bunch.  You know what though, this is what you get and you WILL like it.

I prefer the lighter beers and if you do, too, I recommend the Rye Pils or Dallas Blonde.  The rest of the team all enjoyed their seasonal Festivus and some other darker varities.

Tours every Thursday evening from 6-8.30pm and Saturday from Noon-3pm.  $10 Credit or Cash.

A New Blog.

Why?

Because The Facebook (remember when it used to be called that?!) just isn't cutting it anymore.  I've also gotten a half a dozen comments in passing in the past couple months about that blog I used to write back in the day, which is about half a dozen more than I'd received in the past 5 years.  The Blogging Gods, if you will, are calling my name.  There's a lot to see, do, visit and taste in Dallas if you just meander out of the suburbs or off the Uptown bar beaten path (or even stay on them) and there's something more that can be shared about some of these experiences/events/restaurants/attractions than a simple fbook check-in can do.

Besides, I'm no longer scared by my mother's warnings that all of this can be saved and used against me at some future date.  I mean, it can be saved AND used against me, but there's so much dirt out there on everybody, surely my dirt is just average now :)  Hi mom!

So you know, if you're so inclined, check this blog out every once and awhile and learn about local events, attractions, restaurants, non-profits or interesting articles I stumble across every now and then.  Or, you know, just become more effective at stalking me.

My December "Must See" List:

• The Dallas Chinese Lantern Festival at Fair Park
• Chihuly At NIGHT at The Dallas Arboretum (I was just there to check it out during the day last Sunday on a whim, but I hear it's more impressive at night)
• ICE! at The Gaylord Texan in Grapevine
• Christmas Lights and Hot Chocolate! There are carriage and wagon rides you can book for groups big and small.  Who knows if I'll go all out and get a group together to carriage ride it, but I love the idea...mostly because I LOVE Christmas Lights!

While I will likely be checking these out with a group of fun friends, ladies and gents, these are also good and fun daaaaate ideas, too.  Or you could just go on that boring coffee date.  Whatever floats your boat.

We'll see what I find the time to knock off the list!